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Snowboy is busy saving the Polar Bear King when Greenbackboy approaches him with an idea for a game called KA-CHING -- a game that will make them rich. It's easy: all they need to do is cut down all of the trees in the forest and catch all of the fish in the ocean and trade it in for piles and piles of shiny KA-CHING. But if all the trees are gone, they won't be able to breathe. And what is a sea without fish?

An efficient assessment of energy consumption, energy flow, and energy use efficiency in crop (maize) production is inevitable to accomplish the intensive demand for energy. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) models based on energy input-output analysis are commonly used for the assessment of energy efficiency. However, standard implication of traditional (CCR) and extended (SBM) models has shortcomings in reporting efficiency score; CCR neglects slacks while SBM caused problems when reporting efficiency over time. To overcome this problem, an ensemble approach that compromised the characteristics of two models (CCR-SBM) is proposed in the current study. Based on the weighted average of the relative efficiencies of two contending models, an ensemble efficiency (EE) score was reported for energy efficiency evaluation of considered DMUs. Preliminary analysis ensued average maize yield of 6874 kg ha−1 with an overall energy input of 42,241.45 MJ ha−1, and net energy gain, energy use efficiency (average), specific energy, and energy productivity, were 58,806 MJ ha−1, 2.39, 6.15 MJ kg−1, and 0.16 kg MJ−1, respectively. Using four major shareholders of input energy (i.e., fertilizer, diesel fuel, irrigation water and chemicals) and, maize yield as output, the projected ensemble approach resulted in an unproductive trend of energy use efficiency in Pakistan with an average ensemble efficiency score of 59.67%, and plausible potential of energy saving from 7181.046 to 33,370.74 MJ ha−1. Furthermore, the ensemble approach showed that EE score could help to significantly reduce the shortcomings of slacks and time fluctuation when reporting efficiency score, compared with using individual models. The proposed approach scrutinized and provided a comprehensive state of the actual situation of energy efficiency in maize production of Pakistan that is important in the context of decision-making. Results of the study suggest resource conservation measures through better agricultural management practices, and production methods and extension activities are required to improve the efficiency of energy consumption in maize production of Pakistan.

People have a stake in conservation and environmental management both for their own interests and the sake of the environment itself. Environmental decision-making has changed somewhat in recent decades to account for unintentional impacts on human wellbeing. The involvement of stakeholders in environmental projects has been recognised as critical for ensuring their success and equally for the syntheses of evidence of what works, where, and for whom, providing key benefits and challenges. As a result of increased interest in systematic reviews of complex management issues, there is a need for guidance in best practices for stakeholder engagement. Here, we propose a framework for stakeholder engagement in systematic reviews/systematic maps, highlighting recommendations and advice that are critical for effective, efficient and meaningful engagement of stakeholders. The discussion herein aims to provide a toolbox of stakeholder engagement activities, whilst also recommending approaches from stakeholder engagement research that may prove to be particularly useful for systematic reviews and systematic maps.

Despite the fact that scientific and political consideration for ecosystem services has dramatically increased over the past decade, few studies have focused on marine and coastal ecosystem services for conservation strategies. We used an ecosystem services approach to assess spatial distributions of habitat risks and four ecosystem services (coastal protection, carbon storage, recreation, and aesthetic quality), and explored the tradeoffs among them in coastal areas of South Korea. Additionally, we analyzed how the social and ecological characteristics in coastal areas interact with conservation and development policies by using this approach. We found strong negative associations between the habitat risks and ecosystem services (aquaculture, carbon storage, recreation, and aesthetic quality) across the coastal counties. Our results showed that the intensity of the habitat risks and the provision of ecosystem services were significantly different between reclamation-dominated and conservation-dominated counties, except for coastal vulnerability. A generalized linear model suggested that reclamation projects were dependent on economic efficiency, whereas demographic pressures and habitat conditions influenced the designation of protected areas at a county level. The ecosystem services approach provided guidelines to achieve both sustainable development and environment conservation. By using the approach, we can select the priority areas for developments while we can minimize the degradation of biodiversity and ecosystem services. As cultural ecosystem services are evenly distributed throughout coastal areas of South Korea, decision makers may employ them to improve the conditions of coastal wetlands outside of protected areas.

La faible productivité de l’agriculture en Afrique subsaharienne est due en grande partie à la dégradation de la fertilité des sols. Les agricultures familiales, pilier de la sécurité alimentaire de cette grande région, doivent relever le défi de la restauration et du maintien de la capacité productive des terres. Les pratiques endogènes des producteurs telles que les associations céréales-légumineuses, les jachères pâturées, les parcs arborés... ne permettent plus d’entretenir la fertilité sur des surfaces cultivées qui s’agrandissent, surtout lorsque les sols sont carencés. Durant quatre décennies, les décideurs et acteurs du secteur agricole ont privilégié la vulgarisation des engrais de synthèse. Mais l’utilisation des engrais minéraux demeure faible et bien en deçà de la moyenne de la consommation mondiale (15 kg/ha contre 135 kg/ha). Après avoir longuement promu l’utilisation de fumure organique, la recherche invite désormais à diversifier les sources de biomasse fertilisante via l’agroforesterie, les associations avec les légumineuses, l’agriculture de conservation. D’autres techniques de conservation de l’eau et du sol ont également été mises en avant. C’est bien la combinaison de différentes pratiques qui est à construire avec les agriculteurs pour chaque situation de production, en fonction des ressources disponibles localement, d’un apport raisonné d’engrais de synthèse et d’amendement, des savoirs paysans et scientifiques. Pour cela, il est nécessaire (i) de modifier les postures des chercheurs et des décideurs vis-à-vis des ruraux et (ii) de réviser les politiques publiques toujours focalisées sur l’usage des engrais minéraux, afin de fournir des services d’appui-conseil plus diversifiés, performants et intégrant les besoins de transitions agroécologiques indispensables aujourd’hui dans un contexte de changement climatique. The low productivity of agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa is largely due to the degradation of soil fertility. Family farming, the cornerstone of food security in this vast region, faces the challenge of restoring and maintaining the land’s productive capacity. Farmers’ endogenous practices, such as cereal-legume intercropping, grazed fallows and tree plantations, are no longer able to maintain fertility on expanding cultivated areas, especially when soils are deficient. For four decades, decision-makers and stakeholders in the agricultural sector have favored the widespread use of synthetic fertilizers. However, the use of mineral fertilizers remains low and well below the global average (15 kg/ha versus 135 kg/ha). Having long promoted the use of organic manure, research is now encouraging the diversification of biomass sources through agroforestry, intercropping with legumes and conservation agriculture. Water and soil conservation techniques have also been put forward. It is indeed the combination of soil fertility management practices that needs to be developed with farmers for each production situation, depending on locally available resources, a rational use of synthetic fertilizers, and farmers’ and scientists’ knowledge. To achieve this goal, it is necessary (i) to modify the postures of researchers and decision-makers towards rural people, and (ii) to revise public policies that still focus on the use of mineral fertilizers, in order to provide more diversified, high-performance advisory services that integrate the requirements of the agroecological transitions, which are essential today in a context of climate change.

La connaissance de la diversité des especes, leur distribution et celle des facteurs susceptibles de menacer leur survie dans une aire protégée sont primordiales pour mieux apprécier l'état de conservation et contribuer a orienter la prise de décisions de gestion. Cette étude vise a contribuer a l'amélioration de la connaissance de la faune du Parc national Tai (PNT) en fournissant les premieres informations sur la diversité des moyens et grands mammiferes et des menaces qui pesent sur ceux-ci dans les presqu'îles PK28 et Apollinaire (par la suite îles). En utilisant 23 pieges photographiques et des marches de reconnaissance sur ces îles, entre janvier et février 2019. Au total, 13 especes de mammiferes ont été identifiées. Parmi elles, sept especes ont été identifiées sur l'île Apollinaire et 13 especes sur PK28. Les moyens et grands mammiferes étaient plus diversifies sur l'île PK28 que l'île Apollinaire. Deux des especes identifiées sont menacées selon la liste rouge de l'Union Internationale pour la Conservation de la Nature. Il s'agit d'une espece en danger (EN), le Pangolin commun (Phataginus tricuspis) et une espece vulnérable (VU), la Panthere (Pantherapardus). Des menaces anthropiques ont été observées avec 59,68% des indices d'agression humaine sur Apollinaire contre 40,32% des indices sur Pk28. Cette étude trés précieuse souligne la nécessité d'augmenter les efforts de conservation sur les îles en les intégrant dans les programmes de suivi écologique et de surveillance, afin de mieux appréhender l'écologie des animaux qui y existent et pour réduire les activités illégales qui les menacent.

Uncertainty analysis is described in the context of risk assessment for invasive plant species, where assessment criteria can be weighted using a weight-assignment methodology based on multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA). A description is given of the essential elements of the Victorian Weed Risk Assessment (VWRA) model that ranks weed species according to scores determined from the synthesis of expert opinion and published literature. The VWRA model uses MCDA to produce a priority ranking of risk for pest plant species by compiling complex data into components with similar themes, arranging these components into the appropriate hierarchical order and then assigning criterion weights to each component. The aim of the study was to investigate the uncertainty and statistical significance in the ranking of the invasive species produced by the model. The methodology used for the uncertainty analysis is described and employed in the evaluation of the two categories of interest, represented by the statistical factors of impact and invasiveness. The criteria contributing to the uncertainty in the predicted ranking were found to be mainly in the impact category, rather than the invasiveness category, and related to agricultural factors such as vector status, reductions in yield quantity and increasing harvest cost.

Hypothetical proteins comprise roughly half of the predicted gene complement of Toxoplasma gondii and Plasmodium falciparum and represent the largest class of uniquely functioning proteins in these parasites. Following the idea that functional relationships can be informed by the timing of gene expression, we devised a strategy to identify the core set of apicomplexan cell division cycling genes with important roles in parasite division, which includes many uncharacterized proteins. We assembled an expanded list of orthologs from the T. gondii and P. falciparum genome sequences (2781 putative orthologs), compared their mRNA profiles during synchronous replication, and sorted the resulting set of dual cell cycle regulated orthologs (744 total) into protein pairs conserved across many eukaryotic families versus those unique to the Apicomplexa. The analysis identified more than 100 ortholog gene pairs with unknown function in T. gondii and P. falciparum that displayed co-conserved mRNA abundance, dynamics of cyclical expression and similar peak timing that spanned the complete division cycle in each parasite. The unknown cyclical mRNAs encoded a diverse set of proteins with a wide range of mass and showed a remarkable conservation in the internal organization of ordered versus disordered structural domains. A representative sample of cyclical unknown genes (16 total) was epitope tagged in T. gondii tachyzoites yielding the discovery of new protein constituents of the parasite inner membrane complex, key mitotic structures and invasion organelles. These results demonstrate the utility of using gene expression timing and dynamic profile to identify proteins with unique roles in Apicomplexa biology.